No cozy murders here, no cats, no recipe-laden, little old ladies in cardigans revealing the killer over knitting needles and tea cups. This is hard-core, baby. Take it or leave it.
Meet manly men composed of muscle and brawn, sassy, brassy dames and duplicitous extras. (Psst — ladies like these titles, too.)
“Girls” by Bill James: Drug trafficking, violence, crime empires, everything’s OK in merry olde England until foreigners move in with their latest nefarious, illegal exploitation ploy. Hint: It’s the title of the book. Gang warfare ensues, territory is threatened. Who’s up to the challenge? James has a string of Harpur and Iles mysteries in the series to tempt the complacent. Cheerio!
“The Redbreast” by Jo Nesbo: Can a World War II killing committed in 1944 resonate in modern-day Scandinavia? Travel to Norway and join detective Harry Hole in unraveling an assassination plot five decades in the making. The action revolves around the question: When does acting on one’s beliefs turn into collaboration with the enemy?
“The Savage Garden” by Mark Mills: College teachers and students, horticulture, gardens, Machiavelli? Can Cambridge-educated eggheads like Adam Bunting be hard-boiled, or just scrambled? Brush up on the classics in this weed-choked, vine and crime-entangled jardinière of hot-bedded plots.
“The Lisbon Crossing: A Novel” by Tom Gabbay: The spy genre has always made for thrilling noir. Relive 1940s Portugal “everyday life” during World War II with Jack Teller as he searches for a childhood friend of a friend. What is the definition of “noncombatant” during war when one’s world is on the brink of destruction?
